The Longmeadow football program is used to Gatorade showers at the end of the season, but watching the opposing coach get doused in water in week one is an experience the Lancer football program is not familiar with.

After Agawam defeated Longmeadow 35-12 last year to open the year, Agawam players dumped a jug of water over then-coach Rick Jewell to celebrate the program’s first win over the Lancers since 2004.

It’s not an experience Longmeadow wants to see repeated.

Senior linebacker Conrad McCarthy said the opening loss “set the tone for the whole year” last season as the Lancers finished 6-5, qualifying for the playoffs but falling a bit short of the program’s usually lofty standards.

Unlike last season, when a number of Longmeadow players were moving up into new roles and getting their first experience as starters under the lights at Agawam, this is an experienced and veteran Lancer group.

“Agawam is a good program, they’ve gotten better over the last few years. We played terribly last year and they played a great game, we’re going to try to come out and play our best game this year,” said Longmeadow coach Nick St. George.

There are seniors all over the field for Longmeadow this year. McCarthy and Nick Crews will hold down two linebacker spots. Alex Calabrese is one of the most talented defensive backs in Western Mass., and the combination of Dylan Rye and Dare Odutola create a veteran presence on the line.

On the offensive side, senior quarterback Connor Ostrander will begin his second full season as the starter under center, and his coach expects him to have a much bigger impact than he did as a junior in 2013.

“A lot of guys are ready to step up and play, I think we’re going to be more balanced. The offensive line has a lot of playing experience, I’m expecting them to play well,” St. George said.

Agawam, meanwhile, comes one of the most successful seasons in program history, but faces the challenge of replacing a number of starters and its coach, Rick Jewell.

First-year coach John Benjamin said he’s expecting Longmeadow to be ready to play Friday night.

“We know Longmeadow doesn’t like to get beat, in 2004, that next year they had us circled. They had our number,” Benjamin said. “Along with just about every other game, we have targets on our backs, every team we play has us circled.”

Although the Brownies will have to replace a number of starters on the offensive line, quarterback Mike Vecchiarelli and running back Steven Comee from last year’s 10-0 squad, the team does return tailback Gio Russo and a number of key contributors on defense.

Linebacker Paul Taft, along with defensive ends Jim and Fred Karl-Morin will make the Brownies tough around the line of scrimmage. In the secondary, senior captain Anthony Basile, the “vocal leader” of the team according to Benjamin, has the ability to make game-changing plays.

“In the big picture, in the (Suburban) conference we’re right in the mix of things. I don’t know if we’re going to be the dominant team we were last year, but there’s no reason we can’t repeat this year,” Benjamin said.